After the family split up, my stepmother and scumbag father begged me to come home.

Lin Qianqian would look up at the person's face after reading each name and hand over the coin.

Some people felt guilty after accepting the money, fearing she might change her mind; others clutched the money, their eyes reddening, thinking this girl was a living saint. She had made it clear: take the money, feel at ease, no need to thank me.

"Don't rush, don't rush," she said loudly as she counted the money. "We have enough coins, everyone can rest assured."

As they were talking, a commotion broke out at the back of the crowd.

A burly woman pushed her way through the crowd, her shoulder shoving her aside and causing a young woman carrying a child to stumble. It was Granny Li.

"Hey! Aunt Li, why are you pushing? Go to the back of the line!" The woman who had been bumped regained her balance, her face pale.

Granny Li rolled her eyes and raised her chin: "I'm an old woman, my legs hurt from standing for too long, so why don't you weigh me first? Don't you young people know how to respect your elders?"

"Your legs didn't hurt when you were digging for poisonous potatoes!" someone sneered from behind. "You ran faster than a rabbit all over the hillside, but now you're pretending."

"Besides," another voice chimed in, "Qianqian already said she wouldn't take a single copper coin from you, so what are you doing here?"

Granny Li's expression changed, but she quickly regained her haughty demeanor, raising her voice eight octaves: "Hmph, do you know what my relationship is with Old Madam Lin? We're sisters who slept in the same bed! What's wrong with me standing in front? Today, she has to collect these poisoned potatoes whether she likes it or not!"

She paused, her small, beady eyes sweeping across the crowd: "Anyone who disagrees, step forward and speak. I want to see who can sell their poisoned potatoes while I'm here."

The crowd fell silent for a moment. Granny Li was used to bullying everyone in the village, relying on her relationship with Old Lady Lin to oppress her neighbors for years. Some of the more timid ones were genuinely intimidated by her words and lowered their heads, not daring to utter a sound.

Lin Qianqian continued handing out coins, distributing three more before slowly raising her head.

She didn't rush to speak, but just looked at Granny Li with a flat gaze, neither angry nor amused, as if she were looking at a crooked tree blocking her way.

"I didn't know," she finally spoke, her voice unhurried. "Does Granny Li have such great power that she can influence who Lin Qianqian accepts or doesn't accept?"

Granny Li felt a little uneasy under her gaze, but she refused to back down verbally: "Hmph! Your grandmother said it herself, you have to take my poisonous potatoes! How dare you disobey your grandmother?"

"My grandma?" Lin Qianqian's lips curled up, but the smile didn't reach her eyes. "Even if my grandma stood here in person, I wouldn't accept yours, let alone what she said."

These words carried weight, causing some in the crowd to gasp in shock, while others clenched their fists in satisfaction.

Granny Li's face turned a deep purplish-red, and she was about to throw a tantrum when a hoarse voice suddenly came from behind the crowd:

"Qianqian, you're being ridiculous."

The crowd automatically parted to make way. Grandma Lin, supporting her granddaughter Lin Xiaohua's hand, slowly walked over, a kind smile on her face, but that smile was exactly the same as Lin Qianqian's smile just now—it didn't reach her eyes.

"You didn't even tell Grandma about such a big thing as collecting poisoned potatoes." The old lady stopped, glanced around the yard, and said in a tone as if she were coaxing a child, "Grandma will be here to keep watch for you, so that no one will take advantage of your young age and try to fool you."

That's a polite way of saying it; ostensibly it's about protecting her granddaughter, but secretly it's about taking over the situation.